College Application Essay

Three-Step Process to Writing Successful College Application Essays:

1. Step One: Brainstorming Topic Ideas
2. Step Two: Selecting An Essay Topic
3. Step Three: Writing the Essay, Tips for Success

Step One: The most important part of your essay is the subject matter.
To begin brainstorming a subject idea, consider the following points. From this brainstorming session,
you may find a subject you had not considered at first.
Finally, remember that the goal of brainstorming is the development of ideas -- so don't rule anything
out at this stage. See if any of these questions help you with developing several ideas for your college
essay.
What are your major accomplishments, and why do you consider them accomplishments? Do
not limit yourself to accomplishments you have been formally recognized for since the most
interesting essays often are based on accomplishments that may have been trite at the time but
become crucial when placed in the context of your life.
Does any attribute, quality, or skill distinguish you from everyone else? How did you develop
this attribute?
Consider your favorite books, movies, works of art, etc. Have these influenced your life in a
meaningful way? Why are they your favorites?
What was the most difficult time in your life, and why? How did your perspective on life change
as a result of the difficulty?
Have you ever struggled mightily for something and succeeded? What made you successful?
Have you ever struggled mightily for something and failed? How did you respond?
Have you experienced a moment of epiphany, as if your eyes were opened to something you
were previously blind to?
What is your strongest, most unwavering personality trait? Do you maintain strong beliefs or
adhere to a philosophy? How would your friends characterize you? What would they write
about if they were writing your admissions essay for you?
What have you done outside of the classroom that demonstrates qualities sought after by
universities? Of these, which means the most to you?
What are your most important extracurricular or community activities? What made you join
these activities? What made you continue to contribute to them?
What are your dreams of the future? When you look back on your life in thirty years, what
would it take for you to consider your life successful? What people, things, and
accomplishments do you need?

If the previous questions did not generate enough ideas for your essay, consider the following exercises:
1. Ask for Help from Parents, Friends, Colleagues, etc.
If you cannot characterize yourself and your personality traits do not automatically leap to mind, ask
your friends to write a list of your five most salient personality traits. Ask your friends why they chose
the ones they did. If an image of your personality begins to emerge, consider life experiences that could
illustrate the particular traits.
2. Consider your Role Models
Many applicants do not have role models and were never greatly influenced by just one or two people.
However, for those of you who have role models and actually aspire to become like certain people, you
may want to incorporate a discussion of that person and the traits you admired into your application
essay.

Step Two: Selecting an Essay Topic
Now that you have finished brainstorming, you should also now have an idea of what impression you
want to make on the admissions officers.
You must now consider topics that will allow you to synthesize your important personal characteristics
and experiences into a coherent whole while simultaneously addressing your desire to attend a specific
institution. While most admissions essays allow great latitude in topic selection, you must also be sure
to answer the questions that were asked of you.
You should at least have read the college's webpage, admissions catalog, and have an understanding of
the institution's strengths.
Consider the following questions before proceeding:
Have you selected a topic that describes something of personal importance in your life, with
which you can use vivid personal experiences as supporting details?
In this vein, if you are presenting a topic that is controversial, you must acknowledge counter
arguments without sounding arrogant.
Will an admissions officer remember your topic after a day of reading hundreds of essays? What
will the officer remember about your topic? What will the officer remember about you? What
will your lasting impression be?
Step Three: Writing the Essay, Tips for Success
In writing the essay you must bear in mind your two goals: to persuade the admissions officer that you
are extremely worthy of admission and to make the admissions officer aware that you are more than a
GPA and a standardized score, that you are a real-life, intriguing personality.
However, we have compiled the following list of tips that you should find useful while writing your
admissions essay.
1. Answer the Question.
You can follow the next 12 steps, but if you miss the question, you will not be admitted to any
institution.
2. Be Original.
Even seemingly boring essay topics can sound interesting if creatively approached. If writing
about a gymnastics competition you trained for, do not start your essay: "I worked long hours
for many weeks to train for XYZ competition." Consider an opening like, "Every morning I awoke
at 5:00 to sweat, tears, and blood as I trained on the uneven bars hoping to bring the state
gymnastics trophy to my hometown."
3. Be Yourself.
Admissions officers want to learn about you and your writing ability. Write about something
meaningful and describe your feelings, not necessarily your actions. If you do this, your essay
will be unique. Many people travel to foreign countries or win competitions, but your feelings
during these events are unique to you. Unless a philosophy or societal problem has interested
you intensely for years, stay away from grand themes that you have little personal experience
with.
4. Don't "Thesaurize" your Composition.
For some reason, students continue to think big words make good essays. Big words are fine,
but only if they are used in the appropriate contexts with complex styles. Think Hemingway.
5. Use Imagery and Clear, Vivid Prose.
If you are not adept with imagery, you can write an excellent essay without it, but it's not easy.
The application essay lends itself to imagery since the entire essay requires your experiences as
supporting details. Appeal to the five senses of the admissions officers.
6. Spend the Most Time on your Introduction.
Expect admissions officers to spend 1-2 minutes reading your essay. You must use your
introduction to grab their interest from the beginning. You might even consider completely
changing your introduction after writing your body paragraphs. Remember these rules:
- Don't Summarize in your Introduction. Ask yourself why a reader would want to
read your entire essay after reading your introduction. If you summarize, the
admissions officer need not read the rest of your essay.
- Create Mystery or Intrigue in your Introduction. It is not necessary or recommended
that your first sentence give away the subject matter. Raise questions in the minds
of the admissions officers to force them to read on.

7. Body Paragraphs Must Relate to Introduction.
Your introduction can be original, but cannot be silly. The paragraphs that follow must relate to
your introduction.

8. Use Transitions Wisely.
Applicants continue to ignore transition to their own detriment. You must use transition within
paragraphs and especially between paragraphs to preserve the logical flow of your essay.
Transition is not limited to phrases like as a result, in addition, while ... , since ... , etc. but
includes repeating key words and progressing the idea. Transition provides the intellectual
architecture to argument building.

9. Conclusions are Crucial.
The conclusion is your last chance to persuade the reader or impress upon them your
qualifications. In the conclusion, avoid summary since the essay is rather short to begin with; the
reader should not need to be reminded of what you wrote 300 words before. Also do not use
stock phrases like in conclusion, in summary, to conclude, etc.

10. Take a Break from Writing. Do Something Else.
Spend a week or so away from your draft to decide if you still consider your topic and approach
worthwhile.

11. Give your Draft to Others.
Having other students or adults read your essay allows for a better chance of your essay being
accepted by different types of readers.

12. Revise, Revise, Revise -- and Keep Revising.
You only are allowed so many words; use them wisely. If H.D. Thoreau couldn't write a good
essay without revision, neither will you. Delete anything in the essay that does not relate to your
main argument. Do you use transition? Are your introduction and conclusions more than
summaries? Did you find every single grammatical error? Consider:
Allow for the evolution of your main topic. Do not assume your subject must remain fixed and
that you can only tweak sentences.






College Essay Letter Accepted by Harvard

Of all the characters that I've "met" through books and movies, two stand out as people that I
most want to emulate. They are Attacus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird and Dr. Archibald "Moonlight"
Graham from Field of Dreams. They appeal to me because they embody what I strive to be. They are
influential people in small towns who have a direct positive effect on those around them. I, too, plan to
live in a small town after graduating from college, and that positive effect is something I must give in
order to be satisfied with my life.
Both Mr. Finch and Dr. Graham are strong supporting characters in wonderful stories. They
symbolize good, honesty, and wisdom. When the story of my town is written I want to symbolize those
things. The base has been formed for me to live a productive, helpful life. As an Eagle Scout, I represent
those things that Mr. Finch and Dr. Graham represent. In the child/adolescent world I am Mr. Finch and
Dr. Graham, but soon I' ll be entering the adult world, a world in which I' m not yet prepared to lead.
I' m quite sure that as teenagers Attacus Finch and Moonlight Graham often wondered what
they could do to help others. They probably emulated someone who they had seen live a successful life.
They saw someone like my grandfather, 40-year president of our hometown bank, enjoy a lifetime of
leading, sharing, and giving. I have seen him spend his Christmas Eves taking gifts of food and joy to
indigent families. Often when his bank could not justify a loan to someone in need, my grandfather
made the loan from his own pocket. He is a real-life Moonlight Graham, a man who has shown me that
characters like Dr. Graham and Mr. Finch do much much more than elicit tears and smiles from readers
and movie watchers. Through him and others in my family I feel I have acquired the values and the
burning desire to benefit others that will form the foundation for a great life. I also feel that that
foundation is not enough. I do not yet have the sophistication, knowledge, and wisdom necessary to
succeed as I want to in the adult world. I feel that Harvard, above all others, can guide me toward the
life of greatness that will make me the Attacus Finch of my town.

ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE COMMENTS:
This essay is a great example of how to answer this question well. This applicant chose characters who
demonstrated specific traits that reflect on his own personality. We believe that he is sincere about his
choices because his reasons are personal (being from a small town, and so forth). He managed to tell us
a good deal about himself, his values, and his goals while maintaining a strong focus throughout.